MAXWELL STREET BLUES
Directed by Linda Williams & Raul Zaritsky, 1981

Chicago's legendary Maxwell Street was home to an open-air market that thrived for decades. It was there that the Chicago blues was born as African American street musicians, who had fled the rural South for the city, played regularly on the dirty corners, empty lots, and broken sidewalks. Together, they hammered out a hard-driving, electrified sound that influenced the world.

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AFRO-LATINO MUSIC:
SONS OF BENKOS and HANDS OF GOD
Sons of Benkos directed by Lucas Silva, 2003
Hands of God directed by Delia Ackerman, 2004

Sons of Benkos shows the evolution of Afro-Colombian music over generations while exploring the presence of African culture in Colombia. The title pays homage to Benkos, an important Black leader in the fight for freedom during the era of slavery in Colombia. The title "Sons of Benkos" suggests the ongoing struggle for the recognition of African influences on Colombia's artistic heritage. Hands of God tells the story of Peruvian percussionist Julio "Chocolate" Algendones, a legendary musician famous for his speed and dexterity on the cajon drum. Mixing traditional African influences with contemporary jazz, Algendones composed, taught, and performed many musical styles all over the world.

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IRANIAN GENRE FLICKS:
GOING BY and PASTRY GIRL
Going By directed by Iraj Karimi, 2001
Pastry Girl directed by Iraj Tahmasb, 2002

For many, "Iranian film" conjures up the art cinema of Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, but the country also produces its share of genre flicks with characters and conventions familiar to movie-lovers in any country. This exclusive two-pack offers a road movie and a romantic comedy - Iranian style.

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CONSPIRACY THEORIES: WHOEVER SAYS THE TRUTH SHALL DIE and THE UNQUIET DEATH OF JULIUS AND ETHEL ROSENBERG
Whoever Says the Truth directed by Philo Bregstein, 1981
Unquiet Death directed by Alan Moorman, 1974

The films in this two-pack offer perspectives on two unrelated but high-profile criminal cases. On June 19, 1953, during the height of McCarthyism, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed at Sing Sing Prison. Produced in 1974, The Unquiet Death was the first comprehensive documentary to examine the Rosenberg's case. In Whoever Says the Truth, documentary filmmaker Philo Bregstein probes the mysterious circumstances surrounding Pier Pasolini's death to suggest a possible cover-up or conspiracy by right-wing groups.

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3=1: THE FILMS OF JAN SHARP
2010

Jan Sharp's circle of friends includes some of the most interesting, creative, or unique people on earth. 3=1 features a trio of films about the extraordinary folk who have opened up for Sharp's camera. In Rick, Michele and Scarlett, clothing designer Rick Owens, recently hailed as the "edge of future fashion," prepares for a Paris showing. His L.A. studio is across the street from Michele Remy's café, where the city's movers and shakers come for a quiet evening out on the town. Beard: Pecking Order was shot at the invitation of the film's subject, Peter Beard, who asked Sharp to record his last professional assignment in his beloved Africa. Shot on location in East Timor, Chasing the President follows President Jose Ramos Horta on a peace-building mission into the remote border districts of Asia's newest nation.

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MENSCHENFRAUEN
Directed by Valie Export, 1980

Journalist Franz S. dallies with four women who think only they are the apple of Franz's eye. Each girlfriend represents a different female archetype: Petra is a sweet kindergarten nurse; Gertrud is an intelligent teacher; Elisabeth the barmaid is always ready for a party; and poor Anna is the long-suffering wife. Eventually, the women want more from life than Franz's attention and use different means to undermine his game.

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DELTA
Directed by Kornel Mundruczo, 2008

Mihail (Felix Lajko) returns to his mother's village after years of absence to discover he has a grown half sister, Fauna (Orsi Toth). Mihail has ambitions to rebuild his father's house and support himself through fishing. When he moves to an island that once belonged to his family, Fauna tags along, eager to escape her brutish father. What should be an idyllic existence is disrupted by the small minds of petty villagers.

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REMBETIKO (DVD-R)
Directed by Costas Ferris, 1983

Greek actress Sotiria Leonardou, who also co-scripted, stars as Marika, a rembetika singer whose family immigrated to Greece from Smyrna after the Turks pillaged the city in 1922. The family's hard life in the slums of Piraeas provides a colorful backdrop to explain the origins and meaning of rembetiko. Marika's rise as a singer parallels the political history of Greece, connecting the times to the music. In Greek with English subtitles.

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